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Audio hefted his rucksack up onto his shoulder; it was lighter than it had been after his Dad went through it. Now he had just his favorite Speedo and 5 each of t-shirts, underwear, socks and shorts. No cell phone, iPod, game system, not even his watch! This was going to be torture! He glanced at Kittara. She was even less happy about the situation then he was-- Mythic had taken out her make up along with her electronics, only letting her bring some elastic bands for her hair and one brush!

They reached a turn in the path they were following and caught up to Kerris. "Here we are." He waved to a black bear that came toward them from a dock at the edge of the water. "Silas, it's great to see you again! Thanks for taking care of everything for us." As the bear got closer he reached out and shook Kerris' hand pulling him into a rough hug then did the same to Mythic. Audio and Kittara were introduced but not hugged, then the whole group headed toward the dock.

"Stick to the map and you shouldn't have any trouble," Silas said as he helped Kerris stow their packs into an odd-looking boat that Audio knew from books was a canoe. "Oh I almost forgot!" The bear went back to the landward side of the dock and picked up two gift wrapped boxes. "These are for your kits."

Audio looked at Kitt to find her looking at him and they both shrugged stepping forward to take the packages that were offered to them. Inside they each found: a thermos and combination plate/bowl that held a set of utensils inside, a pocket knife that folded out to display all kinds of useful little tools and an Aquaman 2000 waterproof digital camera.

Mythic laughed as Kerris gave the bear a dirty look. "Thanks for respecting my wishes about technology. All aboard!" Mythic hopped into the front and Kerris into the back taking the only two seats there were leaving Audio and Kitt to clamber into the middle and make room to sit. Audio started out sitting on the some of the bags but Kerris said, "Audio you better get down or you'll over balance the boat." With a last wave to the bear they were on their way.

After a half hour, during which Kitt and he dozed, Mythic asked, "Audio, would you like to try paddling for a while?" That got his attention, it looked easy enough and was better than being bored out of his mind. He scrambled over Kitt in his haste to move up behind his Papa. "Whoa, slow down or you'll tip the boat and we'll have to swim for it."

"Keep your feet out of my stomach Audio!" The vixen grumbled.

He was more cautious as he moved up after that, "How do we change spots?" He asked and Mythic slid to the side leaving room to join him on the small seat.

He clutched the paddle tightly in both hands, only to have Mythic shake his head. "Loosen your grip Sport or you'll wear yourself out." He paid close attention to the way Mythic positioned his hands and the motion that he was supposed to use, then the older male slipped backward leaving him to it. While he paddled he heard Mythic teaching Kittara how to fish.

"Why do I have to put a worm on it? Why can't I just use a lure like we do at home?" The girl whined setting Audio's teeth on edge, why couldn't she just do what he was asking her to?

His Papa had far more patience with her than he would have, "Because we aren't at home and this is how we're going to be fishing from the canoe." He offered her the squirming worm once more, "Now take the worm like a good girl."

Audio's favorite part was gleefully watching Kittara when she had to scale and clean the fish later that day. "If you catch it you clean it!" was the firm rule Mythic laid out for them. "Just run the knife blade up the back of the fish." Papa had even demonstrated for her, cleaning one of the fish completely by himself, it didn't look too hard to Audio.

But when Kitt tried it... "Eeewwww why are they flying all over the place?" and then a few moments later she shrieked, "It's in my *hair*!" Having been told that she could rinse it out later she seemed slightly mollified until she made the first cut in the belly of the fish. "Oh my god it's all gross inside there! I am *NOT* putting my fingers in there!" Audio glanced over to where Kerris was hunched down starting a fire and swore he saw his Dad's shoulders shaking with laughter. He just shook his head and went back to collecting firewood. She made such a fuss over nothing, so it was a little gross, so what? The prospect of fresh fish for lunch was making his belly rumble, especially since there wasn't any other food.

When she was finished but before she had a chance to go to the water to clean herself off, he got in her way and snapped several pictures with his camera. "AUDIO! I AM GONNA KILL YOU!" She screamed at him as he darted for the cover of the woods with her hot on his heels. Managing to lose her, since he'd been scouting the area while he collected wood, he ducked into the hiding place he'd found and held his breath. Eventually she gave up and went to wash the fish guts off, however he gave her a wide berth the rest of the lunch stop until they had to get back into the canoe.

The whole trip was like that; the older foxes showed the younger ones how to do things with very little in the way of supplies, like making a shelter from tree branches instead of using the rolled up tent in the canoe.

The next day it was his turn to be squeamish. Kerris had taken him out as soon as they landed at their chosen campsite to set some snares, the kind that were supposed to kill a feral by snapping its neck so it didn't feel any pain. They'd chosen a spot where the feral's went often, Kerris pointing out the small round pellets that he'd thought were just another part of the forest floor, "See here, these pellets show you that this little trail is one that the feral's take from their warren to the edge of the water, it's likely that they don't even realize they're leaving a trail." He could believe that, to him it just looked like a smooth patch under the bushes! Pulling the sapling down took all his strength, and he was really proud that he'd managed it all on his own. He'd even set the snare just like Kerris had shown him the night before.

Some time later while Kittara was once again grumbling, this time about having to fetch firewood, they heard the sound of his plate and cup banging together as the trap was sprung. He leaped to his feet and dashed toward where the snare was set only to stop horrified at the sight before him. He'd caught a rabbit all right; the poor thing was dangling by its back leg and making this horrible squealing sound. Kerris walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, you better break its neck. Right now it's terrified and in a lot of pain." The way that the older tod said that sent shivers down his spine!

He looked up at his Dad and shook his head. "I... I can't!" The poor little critter was thrashing around and making all kinds of noise now, he could see blood where the snare was ripping its hide from its back leg but he couldn't move!

"You *have* to end its suffering." Kerris gave him a little push toward the struggling rabbit.

With tears in his eyes he carefully ran his hand down the paracord to where the rabbit was dangling, its little chest heaving, emitting that horrible keening sound. He was as gentle with it as he could be, while watching out for its surprisingly dangerous looking claws. He cradled the small body against his chest and looked at his Dad.

"Go on son, you can't let it go, the leg will fester and it will die in horrible pain." The older tod had a sad look in his eyes, but he didn't make a move toward Audio, "All you have to do now is put your hand at the base of the neck drop the body and give a flick of your wrist while holding onto it. It will snap the neck cleanly and end the suffering."

It was as easy, physically, as his Dad said, but something inside him broke when he felt the life go out of the little body and he started crying. Kerris left him there holding the dead bunny, while he reset the snare, then gathered him against his strong chest and stroked his back soothingly. "It's all right Sport; the first time is always the hardest. I threw up when I had to do it." That helped a little, and when they got back to camp Kerris butchered the small body for him, letting him go to the river to wash the tears off his face. He must have said something to Mythic and Kittara since neither of them commented on his not following the rule they'd been given.

The five days passed far too quickly for Audio, he'd have much preferred to spend a few weeks like this, paddling lazily down the river. But as inevitably happens all good things come to an end.

Silas stood up from the bushes where he'd been waiting in the shade to wave at them. "Halllloooo the boat!" he boomed over the water.

"Halllloooo the land! How long have you been waiting Silas?" Kerris called back.

"Oh not long, you made good time. I didn't get a call so I assume everything went alright?"

Mythic answered him, "The river's high this time of year so we didn't have too many problems. You might want to let the park know the river changed course through the swamp, we had to forge our own channel to stay close to land and get to the freshwater sites." Leaving out the fact that they'd lost the map before they reached the swamp, Audio was still convinced that he'd done it on purpose!

By this time they were beside the dock and Kerris had jumped out to secure the canoe to the pylons. They all bent to the task of pulling the gear out and stacking it up on the bank near Silas' van. As if they'd done this a million times Mythic and Kerris untied the ropes securing the boat to the dock and lifted it up onto their shoulders, carrying it up to lash it into place on the roof of the van.

"So," Silas said once all the gear was stowed in the cargo space, "what did you kits learn on your camping trip?"

Kittara grumbled, "That you end up looking like something the cat dragged in and wishing your shoes were water proof." That made the adults laugh.

But Audio was more thoughtful in his response, "That we have two wonderful fathers who just taught us how to survive in the wilderness with only things we could fit in our pockets."

"Really? What'd you mean little guy?" The bear seemed genuinely interested in Audio's experiences.

The fennec looked at his hands for a moment then up at the bear. "That while I like eating meat, I'm not so fond of the steps it takes to get it in the first place."

The bear seemed to understand what Audio was talking about since he slipped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Not as easy as it seems is it? Taking a life even when you know it's necessary."

Audio nodded slowly remembering the feel of that small helpless form as it struggled in his arms before he ended its life.